In Cool Weather, Tomato Lovers Will See Dread

Food for Thought

August 08, 1991|By SHARON CROWDER Staff Writer

I've grown more tomatoes than my family can eat. I've made tomato salads, tomato sauce, tomato soup and red salsa. Yet, each time I drive by a house with a little hand-written sign saying "home-grown tomatoes," I veer uncontrollably toward it. I buy tomatoes to stockpile, in various forms, for the future. I seem to be possessed of a certain malaise that I call notomatophobia.

You see, I know it will happen. The day will come when no real tomatoes will be available. Perhaps because I'm a reporter I feel, more than most normal people, thrust into the future. I'm already working on stories for September. September is not just impending; it's a reality. And what follows then - horrors - is October.

I dread October. It's the beginning of the end of tomatoes - at least for a good eight months or so. Oh sure, we can eat those anemic-looking rock hard semblances of the real thing sold at local supermarkets. Personally, though, I believe they should be outlawed. Or at least they should be labeled "imitation" tomatoes, in the same way as imitation sour cream or imitation bacon bits. They certainly don't have any of the characteristics of "real" tomatoes. They aren't sweet, red or juicy. They haven't even a trace of acidity. I'd just as soon use them for mulch as put them on a salad.

The point is this: It's time to reap tomatoes while you can. There are so many varied and simple ways to prepare them, they easily could be eaten at every meal during summer months.

The Italians are highly skilled when it comes to serving tomatoes, whether raw or cooked. They stuff them with tuna or shrimp salad and serve them cold as a first course. But they can be filled with less authentic ingredients as well. Herbed cream cheese, goat cheese, French boursin or even marinated vegetables make for interesting stuffing ingredients.

Don't limit the shell to large, beefy tomatoes, either. Plum or Roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes also are excellent for stuffing. Roma-type tomatoes are best cut in half lengthwise for stuffing as opposed to crosswise. For cherry tomatoes, simply pull off the stem, scoop out the flesh with a small melon baller or a paper clip and cut a small slice out of the bottom so they don't roll off the plate. Ruby-red, stuffed cherry tomatoes make for elegant appetizer fare.

Another heavenly, Italian-inspired dish that's utterly simple to make is tomato salad. Buy a decent quality mozzarella and slice it thinly. (Fresh mozzarella is best, but it's sometimes difficult to locate.) Layer it between slices of tomato on a plate, overlapping the slices. Just before serving, drizzle the tomato and cheese slices with olive oil and a sprinkling of red wine vinegar, then strew some julienned basil leaves over the top. The mozzarella gets wonderfully gooey if left, with the tomatoes, at room temperature for a short while before dressing.

If you've never tried oven-cured tomatoes, now is the time to do so. Cooking tomatoes for an extended period of time in the oven dries them somewhat and concentrates their flavor, just as drying them in the sun does. Indeed, their taste is reminiscent of sun-dried tomatoes, but these retain a softer, pulpier texture. Cooked very long and very slow, they make a wonderful condiment. Baked for a shorter time, the end result is an unusually tasty side-dish.

Choose large, ripe tomatoes. Wash and core them and place them in a baking dish in a single layer. Pour enough olive oil over them to keep them from sticking to the pan. If desired, sprinkle some finely chopped garlic and herbs over the tomatoes. Salt to taste and grind some fresh black pepper over them. Then, either bake the tomatoes at 325 degrees for an hour and a half or bake them at 200 degrees for eight to 12 hours.

The longer cooking time further concentrates the flavor, and makes for a condiment-style tomato rather than a side dish.

Cherry tomatoes also may be cooked in this manner, but shorten the cooking time to two hours (at 200 degrees). Oven-cured tomatoes served as a side dish are the perfect foil for fried eggplant or meat dishes.

The condiment-style tomatoes can be used in vegetable or seafood salads, tossed into pasta with olive oil and feta cheese or used as a flavor-booster for sauces and vinaigrettes. And don't neglect to stash some oven-cured tomatoes in the freezer - the season for real tomatoes will soon be over.